The pressure transducer assembly herein can be used in any fluid line for which the fluid pressure within the line is to be determined. The pressure transducer assembly herein has particular utility for the invasive monitoring of blood pressure. In a particular application, the pressure transducer assembly provides a disposable pressure transducer assembly which can be used for a single patient use and then discarded.
Invasive blood pressure monitoring is a system which provides an accurate method for monitoring the blood pressure of a patient. Frequently, invasive blood pressure monitoring is performed for critically infirmed patients. Invasive blood pressure monitoring is also performed during critical surgeries and on patients in intensive care units and critical care units. Invasive blood pressure monitoring is gaining acceptance in conjunction with the care and treatment of cardiac pateints and for providing a technique for the constant, accurate determination of blood pressures for such patients. Invasive blood pressure monitoring is used with cardiac catheterization to provide bedside cardiac and blood pressure monitoring. In invasive blood pressure monitoring, a catheter is inserted into a patient's circulatory system with the end of the catheter having an opening which is open to the blood stream. In many instances, the catheter is inserted into the circulatory system such that the proximal end of the catheter reaches the heart in order to provide monitoring of atrial and venous pressures. An I.V. set is generally attached to the distal end of the catheter protruding from the patient. An I.V. solution bag in the I.V. set assembly contains a solution which is permitted to flow through the catheter and into the patient. The I.V. solution extending through the catheter and into the patient provides a fluid pathway for pressure in the patient's circulatory system. By positioning a pressure transducer along the fluid pathway, the blood pressure in the patient's circulatory system can be monitored. Generally, such a pressure transducer consists of a dome which functions as a reservoir for the I.V. fluid. The dome includes a resilient diaphragm which attaches to an electrical transducer. The transducer senses pressure fluctuations in the diaphragm and converts such pressure fluctuations into electrical impulses which are transmitted to a monitor.
The pressure transducers that are currently used in invasive monitoring systems are relatively expensive and are generally constructed to be reusable following sterilization. Some pressure transducers can be reused as they are not in direct contact with the fluid being administered but rather are adapted to be connected to fluid reservoir domes which can be either disposable or reusable.
It would be desirable to provide a pressure transducer in a single integrated assembly which can provide an accurate monitoring of fluid pressure while being inexpensive and disposable. It would also be desirable to provide such a pressure transducer such that the pressure in the fluid pathway is determined and converted to electrical impulses such that the transducer need only be electrically connected to a readout monitor or display unit for such determined pressures.